In order to clean swimming pools and other pools, there exist hydraulic robots which operate using the energy of the swimming-pool filtration unit. These robots are connected either to the delivery side or to the suction side of the filtration pump by a floating line measuring 8 to 12 m.
These robots only operate correctly if the filtration installation has sufficient power. They reduce the original filtration performance and the handling and then storage of the lines is impractical.
In order to avoid these drawbacks, independent electric filtration robots that are powered by a floating electric cable have been developed. The main advantage of this type of robot, which is delivered with a low-voltage security transformer, is the ease of installation thereof since they are connected to a standard electrical socket. These autonomous robots have the advantage of operating immediately and without adjustment, this representing a clear sales argument.
A robot of this type, but cable-powered, is described by FIGS. 5A and 5B of the document FR 2 896 005. According to this design, a member for preventing the rotation of the turret to which the cable is connected, said member being fixed to the front of the rotary turret, is activated by the movement of the robot.
One of the main hazards that is encountered with electric robots in general is the tangling of the cable, it being possible, however, for this phenomenon to be limited by the trajectories of the robot being programmed, this requiring traction engines with sophisticated control electronics, however, and/or by a rotating connector that connects the electric cable to the robot or to the electricity supply of the robot.
The drawbacks with this type of robot are the handling of the floating cable, which generally measures 8 to 18 m depending on the size of the swimming pool, and the apprehension of some users with regard to the use of electricity in water.
In order to remedy these drawbacks, battery-operated wireless robots have been developed.
These robots are either powered by a floating battery, as known from document EP 1 122 382 A1, or by on-board batteries that are rechargeable out of the water, as known for example from the document EP 1 689 957 A1, or are rechargeable in the water by induction, as described in the document EP 2 669 450 A1.
These robots are often adaptations of cable-powered electric models and their cost is greater than that of the base models from which they are derived.
Moreover, electric robots are not actually very suitable for battery operation on account of the fact that some use a programmed or programmable electronic guide system with a gyroscope, inclination sensors, wall detectors and several motors: a pump motor for suction and one or two traction motors. This multiplication of the equipment consumes energy and involves high-capacity batteries.
Other robots with a more simple design use a single motor with water-jet propulsion, the direction of which is reversed by a timer, as known for example from the documents EP 2 484 847 A1 or EP 1 022 411 A1. In this case, the robot, which moves randomly, can remain stationary against a wall for a non-negligible period of its cycle while waiting for the reversal in direction. This operation thus consumes energy, this once again involving a high-capacity battery.
In order to remedy this problem, the system provided in the document FR 2 896 005 A1 provides a cable-powered electric robot in which the movement of the robot is not capable of immobilizing the turret systematically since this movement only takes place after the latter has been immobilized, meaning that the propulsion jet can sometimes rotate permanently and in this case the robot does not move.
Another principle known from the abovementioned document FR 2 896 005 A1 proposes a robot powered by a floating cable that is propelled by a rotary jet, the direction reversal of which takes place when a tilting bell cover frees a stop.
This design results in a bulky appliance since the rotary jet is contained entirely in this bell cover.
This type of appliance has high hydrodynamic resistance to movement, and this would involve a powerful pump and thus a high-capacity battery.
The invention proposes remedying these various drawbacks by proposing a battery-powered robot having a simple design with a single motor and without on-board electronics, with low hydrodynamic resistance and provided with a system that allows instantaneous reversal of the direction of movement.